Lastrina’s Meth Push: 3-Year Sentence Looms

UTICA, NEW YORK – A notorious methamphetamine dealer has been caught and is now facing a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and at least 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute the deadly substance.

38-year-old Joseph Lastrina, a Norwalk, Connecticut resident, admitted to directing two other men, Thaddeus Price and Robert Sanger, to complete drug deals in November 2022 in the Capital Region. Those transactions collectively involved 177 grams of pure methamphetamine.

In a separate search warrant executed at Sanger’s home in May 2023, authorities recovered an additional 217 grams of pure methamphetamine. The DEA is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan S. Reiner and Ashlyn Miranda are prosecuting.

Lastrina’s guilty plea is part of a larger investigation that has already resulted in guilty pleas from his accomplices, 47-year-old Thaddeus Price of Albany and 59-year-old Robert Sanger of Rensselaer, New York. Price previously pled guilty to distributing methamphetamine, while Sanger pled guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.

The charges to which the three men pled guilty carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison; a fine of up to $1 million; and a term of supervised release of at least 3 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division, made the announcement. The DEA’s tireless efforts have brought one step closer to dismantling the methamphetamine trafficking ring and making our communities safer.

Lastrina’s case is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of methamphetamine on our communities. The DEA’s investigation and the guilty pleas of Lastrina and his accomplices are a testament to the tireless efforts of law enforcement to combat the scourge of methamphetamine trafficking.